Tag Archives: pastry

I’ve been wanting to make something simple and seasonal, and this recipe fits the bill. There’s no real Wow! factor, but it was just very simply delicious.

I used my quiche dough and made it two days a head of time, so that when I went to roll out the dough it was very chilled, and it worked a lot better this time! As a result, I think the crust was super flaky and extra tasty. I rolled out the dough, prebaked it at 375 with a weight for 20 minutes, removed the weight and baked another 15 minutes. While the crust was prebaking, I got started on prepping my root veggies.

After collecting a variety of root vegetables at the farmer’s market and the grocery store, I got out my new favorite kitchen toy: the mandolin, and sliced them up thinly, about 2mm thickness. You could do it by hand as well, but my slices are never than thin, or that even, and I wanted the veggies to cook evenly.

I used a russet potato, a large parsnip, a rutabaga, a sweet potato, and 2 golden beets. I ended up using 3/4 of the veggies I cut, but if you make this, I would pile the veggies higher and use all of them, because Brent really wishes the veggie layer was thicker. After slicing all the veg, I arranged them in layers in the crust. You could do 1 layer for each veg, or do like I did and alternate the veggies, so each layers gets all the vegetables. After each thin layer, I drizzled it with a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I should include more prep photos, but I always forget! I think I had 5 or 6 thin layers total. After the last layer, I again drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper, and then added a bit of rosemary.

The tart went back into the oven for 35 minutes at 375. After 35 minutes, I opened the oven door and sprinkled some crumbled goat cheese over the tart and baked for an additional 10 minutes. The goat cheese isn’t necessary, but I decided to add it at the last minute because I thought it would go with the beets and other veggies. Goat cheese is always delicious. 🙂

Don’t worry about brown edges. The top layer wrinkled up and browned a bit, making it even more delicious! This was flaky and comforting and totally tasty. I would definitely make it again! I think using all different varieties of beets and adding more goat cheese would be pretty stellar as well.

This makes great leftovers too! I reheat it in the oven at 325 for 10 minutes and it comes out tasting exactly like it did the first time.

I like baking and making pastry dough, and I’ve made a ton of frittatas, so I’m not sure why I’ve never attempted a quiche before. Eggs for dinner are always an easy option for me, so quiche seemed like a perfect dish to try with my new-found free time.

I actually thought it would be pretty simple to make, and while it wasn’t overly difficult, the pastry dough definitely gave me a bit of a hard time. Our apartment runs really warm – it’s 72 degrees in here and our heater is not on right now! – so I think that warmth made it difficult for me to keep the dough as chilled as necessary, but I made it work!

Pastry Dough for one 11″ Quiche:

1 3/4 c. AP flour

1.5 sticks of butter (3/4 c.), cold & diced

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 c. ice cold water

Whisk together flour and salt.

Using pastry cutter or stand mixer, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand (a few lumps are fine).

Slowly stir in water a tablespoon at a time, just until dough comes together in a ball.

Push dough together with your hands into a ball and flatten into a disc about 1″ thick.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour (making it the day before is super easy).

After chilling for a few hours, I was ready to get the quiche together. I wanted something simple, so I just bought a head of broccoli and decided to use the chunk of leftover aged Gruyere in my fridge.

Broccoli Quiche:

I recipe of pastry dough above

2-3 c. chopped broccoli

6 eggs

1.5 c. half & half

1/4 t. cracked black pepper

1/2 t. kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. shredded Gruyere (that’s just what I had, but I think most types of cheese go with broccoli)

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll out pastry dough to a 13″ diameter.

Carefully arrange dough in a quiche/tart pan.

Poke holes in dough with a fork.

Using pie weights, dried beans, or a oven-safe pot lid (like me), weight down the bottom of the dough and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove weight and bake for 15 more minutes.

Meanwhile…

Cook broccoli in boiling water for 4 minutes.

Drain broccoli and blanch in cold water.

Whisk (I actually just threw it all in the blender) together eggs, half & half, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Poor egg mixture into the pre-baked pastry shell.

Drop broccoli on top of the egg mixture.

Sprinkle cheese liberally all over the top!

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes – If the mixture still seems a bit shaky it will firm up.

Cool for at least 30 minutes.

Eat warm, cold or at room temp. 🙂

I served the quiche alongside Brent’s favorite side dish – roasted cauliflower. Whenever I give him a choice of veggie sides, he always picks roasted cauliflower.

I thought this turned out really well! Brent kept commenting on how good the cauliflower was, but he ate two pieces of the quiche, so I think he liked that too. 🙂 I also ate another piece for breakfast this morning – just heated it for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven – and that was equally delicious! I’ll have to think of more flavor combos to make.

snOMG! It’s snowing here! This would not have been newsworthy in our prior life in Indiana, but here it’s kind of a big deal. It obviously doesn’t affect me since I have no place to go, but Brent has to get to work tomorrow and any ice makes these hills impossibly difficult to travel on. We’ll have to see what happens over night!

Remember when I said I couldn’t wait to make this recipe from this book? Well, I did it this Saturday during my baking extravaganza. It took quite a bit of time (like 2 hours start to finish I think), and was a little bit frustrating at first, but it was so worth it. Looks pretty inconspicuous doesn’t it?

The turmeric in the dough stained my gross white laminate counter tops. The coconut oil was new to me, and a bit weirder to work with than I had expected. But it was definitely worth it. The filling alone was worth its weight in gold.

I was annoyed at first that the recipe produced more filling than the dough could accommodate. After I tasted the filling, I was thankful. The filling seemed a bit liquidy, but it cooked up nicely, and the patties were actually able to be eaten like hand-pies.

The dough seemed slightly delicate and flaky, but was sturdy enough to hold. Overall, I loved these. It was one of the most flavorful meals I’ve had in a long time.

The coconut oil definitely gave me a headache at first, but I believe I didn’t chill my dough ingredients well enough before beginning. The oil changed quickly from solid to oily, so make sure if you’re using it in a pastry like this to stop and chill it when necessary. If you’re not familiar with coconut oil, or are concerned about the saturated fat content, here’s a link to some research on its benefits.

I made the full recipe, which made six 7″ patties. We each ate one (and Brent ate an extra half cup of the filling), and I froze the other four, unbaked. I’ll let you know how they turn out when we bake them from frozen. After trying this amazing recipe, I can’t wait to try more of Bryant Terry’s recipes! I’m making another one from Vegan Soul Kitchen tonight!

Welcome!

I'm Victoria, a twenty-five year old registered nurse living in Seattle with my husband and two dogs. Why The Idle Loaf? My husband came up with the name, which according to him, implies that baking is my hobby, but also that I'm kind of lazy. Guilty on both accounts.

Contact!

Contact me with questions, comments or suggestions at theidleloaf@gmail.com